The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Maj. Gen. Eitan Dangot, visited the Kerem Shalom Crossing, located on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, last Wednesday (July 4). There, he observed recent and ongoing improvements in the crossing, which are intended to allow for goods to be transported into Gaza more quickly and efficiently, better accommodating the residents living there.

Maj. Gen. Dangot visited as the guest of the Head of the Land Crossings Authority in the Ministry of Defense, Brig. Gen. (res.) Kamil Abu Rokon. The two senior officers observed the operation of a new cargo screener that had been positioned at the crossing two weeks earlier, so as to enhance and streamline the process of screening the produce entering and leaving the Gaza Strip and expedite the transfer of goods.

In addition, Brig. Gen. (res.) Abu Rokon surveyed for Maj. Gen. Dangot the work currently underway at the crossing in order to upgrade and expand the facility for the transfer of fuels and gas from Israel to the Gaza Strip. Such steps include the replacement of the existing pipes with pipes of a wider diameter and the installation of pumps with a larger compression capability, in order to enable the faster transfer of a larger quantity of fuels and gas to Gaza.

The Ministry of Defense and the Land Crossings Authority have invested millions of shekels in the preparation of the necessary infrastructures for the smooth daily operation of the Kerem Shalom Crossing. Approximately 70 million shekels have been invested in the crossing over the last two years, with the new screening machine costing 14 million and the remainder being invested in the infrastructures needed in order to upgrade and expand the crossing – so as to optimally meet the economic and civil needs of the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip.